Oct. 30, 2007
Melissa Mathews/Beth Dickey
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1272/2087
melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov; beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 07-234
NASA ANNOUNCES NEW CENTER ASSIGNMENTS FOR MOON EXPLORATION
WASHINGTON - NASA announced Tuesday which agency centers will take
responsibility for specific work to enable astronauts to explore the
moon. The new assignments cover elements of the lunar lander and
lunar surface operations. The agency also announced work assignments
for Ares V, a heavy-lift rocket for lunar missions.
"NASA's Constellation Program is making real progress toward sending
astronauts to the moon," said Rick Gilbrech, associate administrator
for Exploration Systems, NASA Headquarters, Washington. "Work on our
new fleet of rockets and spacecraft, Ares I and Orion, is already
well under way. With these new assignments, NASA will launch the next
phase of its exploration strategy - landing crews and cargo on the
surface of the moon."
A center-by-center breakdown of assignments is available on the web
at:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
The Ares V and lunar lander assignments will ramp up in fiscal year
2011, with surface system assignments in fiscal year 2012. While
these decisions will result in budget and personnel allocations at
the centers, detailed estimates will not be available until after
prime contractors are formally selected for the work.
Each center will have the opportunity for additional work assignments
as Constellation Program elements become further defined.
"These work assignments are helping to shape a true Constellation
identity for each NASA center, which in turn will help the agency to
foster the kinds of expertise needed to achieve our space exploration
goals," Gilbrech said.
NASA's Constellation Program is working to send astronauts to the
moon, where they plan to set up a lunar outpost to prepare for human
exploration further into the solar system. The first crewed flight of
the Orion spacecraft, aboard an Ares I rocket, is scheduled for no
later than 2015. Astronauts will return to the moon by 2020.
-end-